Rural transformation, digitalisation and subjective wellbeing: A case study from Indonesia

This study aims to identify the extent to which and the mechanisms through which rural transformation driven by digitalisation and information technologies influences the quality of life of rural residents in Indonesia, a country in the Global South. It presents the interesting case of Kaliabu village, which had been an agricultural area until some residents became logo designers who provided their services online to international customers. Mixed research methods were employed, in which a survey and in-depth interviews were conducted with village residents to evaluate their subjective wellbeing, the notion that is used to measure their quality of life before and after the transformation. Our findings show that rural transformation has triggered increasing life satisfaction and happiness. However, this is evident predominantly for those who were involved directly in the new profession. These people had a chance to take advantage of the development of knowledge and technology in the village and use their newly gained skills for livelihood strategies. As such, they could earn a higher income and improve their life satisfaction and happiness, as they could work more flexibly and thus have more time with their families. Even though our findings show that money plays an important role in conveying life satisfaction, the case of Kaliabu reflects that income can also strengthen social empathy among village residents through mutual help and social learning among fellow designers as well as charity events, so that the increasing life satisfaction and happiness are also spread out over the whole community.